“And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a -prosperous man.” (Gen. 39:2)
I have heard that one of the earliest versions of the English Bible translated this verse, “And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a luckye fellow.” Perhaps “luckye” at that time had a different meaning. At any rate we are glad that later translators removed Joseph from the realm of luck.
For the child of God there is no luck. His life is controlled, guarded, planned by a loving heavenly Father. Nothing happens to him by chance.
That being so, it is inconsistent for a Christian to wish “Good luck” to someone else. Nor should he say “I lucked out.” Such expressions are a practical denial of the truth of divine providence.
The unbelieving world associates various things with good luck-a rabbit’s foot, a wishbone, a four-leaf clover, a horseshoe (always with ends pointing upward so the luck won’t spill out!). Men cross their fingers and knock on wood, as if those actions could affect events favorably or avert misfortune.
The same people associate other things with bad luck-a black cat, Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, the number 13 on a room or on the floor of a building. It is sad to think of people living in bondage to such superstitions, a bondage that is both needless and fruitless.
In Isaiah 65:11 (NASB), God threatened punishment for those in Judah who, it seems, were worshiping the god of chance.
But you who forsake the Lord,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who set a table for Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny.
We cannot be positive as to the particular sin involved but it sounds suspiciously as if the people were bringing offerings to idols that were associated with luck and chance. God hated it and still does.
What confidence it gives us to know that we are not the helpless pawns of blind chance, or of the rolling of cosmic dice, or of Lady Luck. Everything in life is planned, is meaningful and is purposeful. For us it is our Father, not fate; Christ, not chance; love, not luck.
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His more than over eighty-four works published in North America are characterized by a clarity and economy of words that only comes by a major time investment in the Word of God.
MacDonald graduated with an AB degree from Tufts College (now University) in 1938 and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1940. During the 1940's he was on active duty in the US Navy for five years.
He was President of Emmaus Bible College, a teacher, preacher, and Plymouth Brethren theologian alongside his ministry as a writer. He was a close friend and worker with O.J. Gibson.
MacDonald last resided in California where he was involved in his writing and preaching ministry. He went to be with the Lord in 2007.